Rays catcher Reńe Rivera crushed a two run homer in the fourth inning of Saturday’s Grapefruit League game against the Baltimore Orioles. (Photo courtesy of the Tampa Bay Rays)

The Tampa Bay Rays followed a one run loss Friday afternoon, with a one run victory against the Baltimore Orioles, Saturday. There were a few noteworthy highlights; Nathan Karns tossing a perfect four inning start, and catcher Reńe Rivera’s two run, fourth inning blast to left field being just a couple. The Rays walked away from Sarasota with their fourth win of the spring, bringing their Grapefruit League record to a respectable 4-6-1.

Highlights follow.

— Nathan Karns, perfect through four. Suffice it to say, the Rays starting rotation will be strapped to start the season, thanks to Alex Colome’s bout with pneumonia and Drew Smyly’s bout with tendinitis. Enter Nathan Karns. PECOTA projected that Karns would factor into things on the starting rotation with the big league squad. If Saturday’s start was indicative of anything, he’s all in for one of those open spots. The challenge for Karns, Saturday: face a lineup consisting largely of Opening Day starters.

Karns spoke with Michael Kooligian (MLB.com) about the possibility of earning a spot on the starting rotation,

I’m just out there playing the game that I enjoy and love playing every year, and whatever happens that’s their decision. I’m just here to put my best foot forward, no matter what.

Also speaking about the lineup he faced on Saturday, which bore a resemblance to the Orioles’ regular season batting order, Karns continued,

It’s always going to be a challenge out there, facing all these hitters. But if I want that [starting] position, these are the lineups I’m going to be facing in the league. Why not face them now and see what happens?

Manager Kevin Cash praised Karns, noting his strike throwing and his ability to get on track after falling significantly behind a hitter. “A very, very strong outing,” Cash told Marc Topkin (Tampa Bay Times) in his post game presser.

— Rene Rivera hit a two-run blast to left in the top of the fourth inning, plating John Jaso in the process and giving the Rays a 2-0 lead.

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— Kevin Kiermaier drove in Jaso on a ground-rule double to left in the sixth inning, giving Tampa Bay the extra run needed to take Saturday’s game.

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— The defense had a hand in Karns’ success. True, Karns was deserving of his perfect line. However, I’d be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge the guys in the field too. In the fourth inning, utility player Jake Elmore made a beautiful glove side diving play by to cut down Alejandro DeAza for the first out of the inning. Previous to that, in the second inning, David DeJesus mades a sliding catch in foul territory to retire Adam Jones.

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The New What Next

The Rays will face off against the New York Mets in Port Charlotte, Sunday. Matt Andriese will take on his swarthy counter part Bartolo Colon. Andriese has shown promise in his previous two Grapefruit League outings as he continues to battle for one of the open spots in the Rays rotation.

The MASN game announcers reported that Drew Smyly (tendinitis) is expected to throw off the mound Sunday afternoon. Be it as it may, Topkin reported Sunday morning that even if everything goes well, it is unlikely the lefty will be ready to start the season. Smyly was expected to pitch in game three of the Opening Series against the Orioles, though Cash said Odorizzi may get that start instead. Smyly could be ready soon thereafter and shouldn’t miss too much time — at least as of now.

#Rays Cash acknowledges today what has seemed to be the case, that Smyly, even if all goes well, is unlikely to be ready for start of season

Cash said it was “status quo” on RHP Alex Colome (pneumonia) who could be released from hospital Sunday. Colome will need at least seven days before he gets back on the field, making it likely he won’t be ready to start the season.

It’s an illness that certainly will sap him of some strength, Silverman told reporters. We will need to be aware of that and be patient with him as he builds himself back up.

It was also reported that Matt Silverman is exploring rotation options to patch the potential holes in their rotation for the start of the season.

With two starting pitchers that aren’t ready at this point, there’s concern. We’re continuing to evaluate options that we have within the organization as well as continue to monitor the other 29 teams.

Silverman continued,

It’s still early in spring, there’s a lot of time between now and Opening Day to determine plans. But the wheels are spinning, and we’re working on contingencies already.

Besides Nathan Karns, the team has a handful of in house options to act as a stop gap in the interim — righties Andriese and Burch Smith, and lefties Enny Romero and Mike Montgomery. The team could go outside for a starter or for depth to plug in at Triple-A Durham.

Reliever Grant Balfour is back, and reportedly has a good frame of mind after his father’s passing in Australia. Balfour told the media he’ll draw motivation from it. To honor Balfour’s father, David, who was a longtime executive with the Sydney Blue Sox in Australia, the team will wear blue socks (pictured below).

(Photo courtesy of the Tampa Bay Rays)

Jake McGee is excited for his first off-mound throwing session on Tuesday — a big step in his recovery from elbow surgery.

The Rays decided Brandon Guyer (oblique/lat strain) won’t play against the Phillies, Tuesday. He will take live batting practice against Balfour instead.

Evan Longoria collected two hits and an RBI in Friday’s Spring Training game against the Phillies. (Photo courtesy of the Tampa Bay Rays)

12:15 Update: Alex Colome has been hospitalized due to his battle with pneumonia. You can read about his hospitalization below — the update is in italics.

The Tampa Bay Rays dropped their sixth game of the spring, this time to the Philadelphia Phillies by a 2-1 margin, Friday. Despite the loss, starter Chris Archer put together a pretty good outing in his 3-1/3 innings of work. The loss can be blamed on the offense who was stifled by the Phillies hurlers.

Archer, who has been working on his change-up and a quicker delivery to the plate, gave up two runs (both earned) on four hits, including Ryan Howard’s first blast of the spring.

The Rays starter zipped through the first inning with a little help from Evan Longoria, who made a great play on a bunt off the bat of Cesar Hernandez. Archer was also dominant through the second and third innings — having thrown 40 pitches to that point (29 strikes) — allowing only a pair of runners to reach on a pair of base hits (including an infield single) yet things began to unravel in the fourth.

Chase Utley opened the inning with a line drive base hit to Kevin Kiermaier in center field, and Ryan Howard hammered an 88 MPH change-up to right — his first homer of the spring. Manager Kevin Cash allowed Archer to collect one more out — an infield popper to Asdrubal Cabrera at short — before pulling him in favor of Enny Romero. Romero got through the frame cleanly, racking up a strikeout along the way.

Archer threw 47 (35 strikes, 74% K/BB) pitches over the course of his start and collected three strikeouts (all swinging) along the way, including one against Howard in the second inning.

Howard talked about his strikeout and homer — also on a change-up — with Todd Zolecki (MLB.com),

He left a change-up up. I had a good pass at it. I feel like my first AB, felt good, felt like I was seeing the ball pretty well. He threw me a good change-up early on to strike me out, 3-2. But, the second AB, change-up up, put a good pass on it.

Archer also spoke of his ill-fated fourth inning change-up,

When you don’t execute something that’s 88 mph and you have a 30-home run, 100-RBIs guy, if you don’t execute, it’s going to get banged. And we have a lot of those guys in our division. … [It was a] 0-0 change-up, couldn’t-put-it-on-a-tee-any-better home run.

Still, as Archer told Marc Topkin (Tampa Bay Times), he was pleased with his work overall, and said there’s a learning moment in allowing the home run to Howard.

Unfortunately the offense couldn’t get anything started against the Phillies. Longoria proved to be the spark plug at the plate after going 2-3 with an RBI, yet Kiermaier, Cabrera, Desmond Jennings, John Jaso and Curt Casali seemed thoroughly baffled in the box — combining to go 0-16, with only three of the five reaching on a pair of walks and an error. This isn’t to say there weren’t scoring opportunities; Tampa Bay put together threats in the fourth and sixth innings. However Philadelphia’s hurlers clamped down and made the big pitch when they were needed the most. Meh, it’s only Spring Training.

The New What Next

According to MLB.com Tampa Bay will use something closely approximating his Opening Day lineup for the second straight game Tampa Bay faces off against Baltimore in Sarasota. RHP Nathan Karns will take the hill in his third start of the spring. Jose Dominguez, Jeff Beliveau, Steven Geltz, Jhan Marinez and Robert Zarate are also scheduled to pitch.

Another bout of bad news for Tampa Bay, pitcher Alex Colome will not make his Grapefruit League debut this weekend, after being diagnosed with pneumonia. You may recall, Colome didn’t report to camp until last Tuesday because of visa problems, and now he is out indefinitely because of the respiratory illness.

The Rays skipper told Paul Hagan (MLB.com),

He’s got a case of pneumonia. [He] went to the doctor, they’ve got him on antibiotics and then they’ll just monitor it. He’s going to be out a little bit. So we’ll wait. We don’t have everything quite yet. We’ll know more tomorrow. But he will not be pitching this weekend.

The manager added that Colome is in good shape otherwise,

The good thing is he did come in shape. His arm was good. He was keeping up to speed with everything. Hopefully this doesn’t set him back too much.

While the team should know more soon about a schedule for Colome’s recovery, it seems likely the number five candidate would need at least a week just to get back on the field. Additionally, Colome would have to rebuild his arm strength.

Cash didn’t seem overly concerned about the state of the starting rotation. While no date has been set for Drew Smyly’s return to throwing off the mound, he isn’t worried about the lefty who is penciled in as the team’s number three starter.

I think a lot of pitchers go through this in Spring Training where their arm barks a little bit, gets dead, dead arm phase, whatever it is. I’m really not that concerned, Cash said. I think the biggest thing is that he was thrown out of whack a little bit this offseason. We’re being very cautious on our end, making sure that he’s good to go when he is. But everything from him, he’s kind of champing at the bit.

12:15 Update: Alex Colome has been hospitalized in Port Charlotte for treatment of pneumonia. Team officials said Colome is being treated with antibiotics and could be released by the end of the day today or Sunday.

The severity of the illness means Colome is likely to be sidelined for an extended period of time, which is not good for a team that is already facing the potential of beginning the season less two starters.

There was a scare with outfielder Steven Souza Friday afternoon, after he slowly made his way down the first base line on a second inning ground out to short. Although Souza went up the tunnel with trainer Ron Porterfield, he rejoined the team on the field in the home half of the inning. Souza told Topkin he’s fine. As for the mysterious injury? Souza slipped and rolled his left ankle a little in the second, but it felt better as soon as he got to dugout.

Allan Dykstra took over for James Loney at first base Tuesday afternoon, in Port Charlotte. (Photo courtesy of Will Vragovic/Tampa Bay Times)

Sound the alarm! Panic! The Tampa Bay Rays fell to a 1-5-1 record on the after dropping both of their split squad games Tuesday afternoon — 4-3 to the Pittsburgh Pirates and 5-1 to the Boston Red Sox. In actuality though, you should probably think twice before you sound the death knell on the season before it even starts. While Spring Training scores and statistics are mostly meaningless, many place too much emphasis on them — especially early on. Instead of summarizing Tuesday afternoon’s split squad action, I thought it a good idea to step back and discuss what we should and shouldn’t be taking away from Spring Training.

Sample sizes are so small that any meaningful conclusion about a player’s performance isn’t easy to suss out: Everyday starters, and players getting serious roster consideration, will get around 60 at bats during the spring. Why? Among other things, the first statistic to stabilize for hitters is strikeout percentage, and it takes at least 60 plate appearances to do so. Ultimately hitters aren’t worried about looking the perfect pitch to incur damage, they are trying to get their timing down — anything above and beyond is icing on the cake. Take recent acquisition Asdrubal Cabrera for example. Cabrera slashed .357 BA/.438 OBP/.518 SLG/.956 OPS in Spring Training last season, yet he didn’t come close to that line during the regular season. Another example, Pittsburgh Pirates star outfielder Andrew McCutchen — owner of a career .299 BA/.385 OBP/.498 SLG/.883 OPS/.382 wOBA slash line — didn’t get his first Spring Training hit until Monday, a full week into the Grapefruit League season.

Conditions for hitting in south Florida are vastly different from The Trop: Forget not, the Rays play in a dome where there is less resistance on the ball in flight, and the wind is not a factor. Compare that with Charlotte Sports Park where a stiff breeze blowing in can turn a home run into a routine fly ball. Take Luke Maile’s ninth inning double in Monday’s game against New York Yankees for example. The wind resistance was enough to keep the ball in the park. While that game took place in Tampa and not Port Charlotte, you catch my drift.

Pitchers aren’t worried about setting up a hitter to freeze him with a nasty slider, rather they are concerned with staying healthy and building arm strength: Pitchers are focused on getting ready for the season, not getting batters out. It takes many pitchers time to build up their arm strength. Dips in velocity are going to happen, homers are going to happen, and a pitcher might look like crap prior to opening day. Still, a handful of poor performances prior to Opening Day isn’t indicative of his future performance. After all Corey Kluber, the reigning American League Cy Young Award winner, posited a 5.60 ERA in Spring Training last season, and he ended the year as the best pitcher in the AL.

Pitchers use Spring Training to work on pitches:It was written elsewhere,“The time for trial and error is now. Spending time during the season experimenting with a two-seam fastball or a circle change is not a good idea. That should be reserved for side sessions and bullpens. During Spring Training, however, there is absolutely no negative impact to trying out some changes that could eventually be beneficial. Sometimes pitchers will go out to the mound only throwing fastballs away in order to work on their command over the outer half of the plate. Sometimes a pitcher will only work inside and give up a couple bombs from missing spots.” ‘Nuff said.

Players are going to make errors, and that’s fine: Cloudless skies turn poppers into doubles. Errors from players playing out of position aren’t going to happen during the regular season. Furthermore, Spring Training is a time for players to prove their worth, many of whom are untested players at the major league level. Instead, watch how a player jumps on the ball. Is he quick? Does he have good range? Does his movements seem fluid or stilted? What about his arm? Pay attention to where a player is stationed.

Take note of who plays where: Manager Kevin Cash is trying to get Desmond Jennings comfortable in left field, and Kevin Kiermaier in center, so he is giving them a good amount of time in those spots during the spring. Also, watch to see who spends more time at short and second; Asdrubal Cabrera or Nick Franklin.

The win-loss record at the end of the spring means nothing: Cleveland won the Cactus League last season and Tampa Bay had the best record in the Grapefruit League — Miami was second. A lot of help it did the latter two. Conversely, Kansas City went 12-16, and the Los Angeles Dodgers were 7-11, and both teams went deep into the postseason.

Rays INF prospect Hak-Ju Lee on deck in the 10th inning of a Grapefruit League game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Saturday, March 8, 2015. (Photo courtesy of Anthony Ateek/X-Rays Spex)

Chris Archer took the mound for the Tampa Bay Rays Sunday afternoon, in what amounted to a sloppy error filled game against the Philadelphia Phillies — sans any base runners until the fifth inning and no scoring until the eighth. Suffice it to say, it wasn’t pretty. Despite everything, there were a few bright spots.

Archer, the presumed number two starter, rung up one batter in two innings of work, relinquishing an earned run on three hits and a walk.

Bill Chastain (MLB.com) interviewed the Rays righty following his outing, with Archer saying,

Honestly, I gave up a run, but I’m happy overall. For outing No. 1, I threw too many pitches (37 total, 27 strikes), but I’m not going to beat myself up over a few extra pitches when there were so many executed. Even if they were balls. Quality pitches down in the zone.

Archer also mentioned that he was “really happy with (his) progress” on several fronts, including the use of the change-up and his quicker delivery to plate. The righty threw his number three pitch about 10 times and got several whiffs, noting its downward movement — similar to his slider.

I was happy with every single one of them, Archer told Marc Topkin (Tampa Bay Times). It was hard to decipher which one it was, which for me is huge.

While Alex Cobb and Nathan Karns were more efficient in their previous starts, and Archer’s 37 pitches seemed to be a bit much, his 73% K/BB — including quality pitches down in the zone — speaks for itself.

Kevin Jepsen and Brad Boxberger both threw scoreless innings, with the latter striking out Ben Revere (swinging) on three pitches. Recent acquisition Jose Dominguez was also impressive in his inning of work. Dominguez struck out two batters (swinging) on six total pitches, while coaxing a grounder out of Grady Sizemore.

Yet there were more than a few unsavory moments from Sunday afternoon’s game. For example, the Phillies stymied the Rays until the fifth, holding on to a combined perfect game almost halfway through regulation. Adding insult to injury, the Rays’ regulars — Kevin Kiermaier, David DeJesus, and Logan Forsythe — went a combined 0-8. Furthermore, the typically reliable Jeff Beliveau allowed three runs to cross the plate on three hits, a walk and an error, in only two-thirds of an inning. And as if all of this isn’t enough, Tampa Bay erred three times throughout the course of the game, and they could not push across a run of their own until the eighth. That they came within a run of Philadelphia seems like a minor miracle.

Ouch. Water under the bridge — it’s only Spring Training.

The New What Next

Nathan Karns will make his second start of the spring Monday against the Yankees, in Tampa. Also scheduled to see action are righties Ernesto Frieri, Brandon Gomes, and Kirby Yates, and lefties Jordan Norberto and CJ Riefenhauser. I’ll post the starting lineup when it becomes available.

OF Brandon Guyer said his mild oblique/lat strain “felt better” and he still didn’t consider it serious, but he also is still receiving treatment and unsure when he will get back on the field. DH/OF John Jaso said his right shin, bruised and swollen after being hit by a pitch Saturday from A.J. Burnett, felt better, but he was scratched from today’s lineup, replaced by Kevin Kiermaier. Jaso said he hoped to return Tuesday, figuring with the Rays playing two games he had a good chance to make his eagerly awaited outfield debut. “It’s my time to shine,” he said. “I love split squad games now.” INF Nick Franklin said he went through a full workout Sunday with no issues from the mild hip strain that forced him from Saturday’s game. He is scheduled to leadoff and play shortstop Monday.

The Rays utilized the shift several times Sunday and Cash said they will be “very aggressive shifting, with reason behind it obviously.”

In the best case, the Rays were looking at some sort of compromised solution, picking between Alex Colome or Nathan Karns — who between them have 11 big-league starts and four wins — or maybe newcomer Burch Smith (seven big-league starts, one win) to take the fifth until Matt Moore makes a “Juneish” return from elbow surgery that may drag into July.

And now, with opening day four weeks from today, it is looking worse.

Colome is expected to finally arrive in camp today, having been stuck more than two weeks in the Dominican Republic due to visa delays presumably related to his past PEDs suspension. He is supposedly on schedule in workouts but certainly not up to game speed.

And Smyly won’t even throw a ball for at least a couple of days, maybe more, waiting for his shoulder to feel better before he starts again working toward game form. He mentioned tightness, “lots of knots” and inflammation but insists it’s “nothing serious.” That’s probably better listed as still to be determined.

Another difference between Kevin Cash and Joe Maddon: the lineup card for Thursday’s spring opener was released almost a full day ahead of the game. (Photo courtesy of Marc Topkin)

The Tampa Bay Rays concluded the bulk of their pre-Grapefruit League action, full squad workouts ahead of Thursday’s Spring Training opener against the Baltimore Orioles. Asdrubal Cabrera returned to the fold after being sent home the day previous with stomach virus like symptoms. And while there wasn’t much of a buzz regarding Wednesday’s shortened workout, there is quite a buzz ahead of Thursday’s game. I’ll delve into that below.

For Starters

Alex Cobb was named as the Opening Day starter against the Orioles on April 6. Cobb, whose initial reaction was “Joy,” will continue the streak of 13 consecutive seasons for Tampa Bay with an Opening Day starter who is 30 years old or younger — the Rays are only team that can make that claim. He is also the first Ray in seven years, who isn’t David Price or James Shields, to take the mound on Opening Day.

Kevin Cash said it was obvious how much of an honor this is for the Rays ace,

He was extremely excited. I kind of expected him to say, ‘Yeah, OK, whatever,’ but he was pumped. And you look back and you’re like, ‘Man, he’s had some good pitchers here that maybe he’s had to wait in turn for Shields and Price and those guys. I think he looks at it as being an honor, because there have been some good ones here in the past that have done it.

Cash admitted he considered starting Drew Smyly or Chris Archer on April 6, but Cobb ultimately earned the spot based on his past performance, and the amount of work he put into things this off-season past,

I think for the organization, you respect what the other guys have done in Arch and Smyly. But Cobb, he’s right there with them,” he said. “We know everyone wants to do it, but at the same time, with the way Cobb pitched last year and also just the work he’s put in this offseason – along with Arch – has been really impressive to watch.

In true ace form, Cobb was humbled by the opportunity to kick things off, though he is well aware of the responsibility this position holds,

…More on an individual note, seeing what Archer did last year in making every one of his starts and having an excellent year statistically and just on and off the field the way he came into his own, if he was given the ball, I’d have nothing but excitement for him also. But I’d be lying if I didn’t say I was excited to get that nod.

I definitely think taking the ball on opening day comes with a lot of responsibilities, whether you want to embrace that or not,” Cobb said. “There’s going to be a lot of eyes looking at you and judging you, how you go about your business. Younger guys will all want to be in that position to have the ball on opening day, so they’re going to watch how you go about your business and try to replicate that. Whether you want that tag on your or not, it’s there. The best thing to do is embrace it and carry it, take all the responsibilities that go along with it.

Cash also set the rotation for the opening series, leading into the following set against the Miami Marlins:

I’ve always said, and as far back as when Joe (Maddon) was here, if that’s what makes the lineup better, if that’s what gives us the best chance to win on a nightly basis, then I’ll hit wherever you ask me to hit,” Longoria said. “They feel that the way our lineup shapes up that that’s the best way, and I agree with that.

And after speaking with Cash and team officials, it was determined that he would be better suited hitting cleanup. Besides Longoria is more productive when he’s hitting fourth, statistically speaking:

With all of this in mind, Longoria will bat fourth in Thursday’s game in part as an experiment — behind Cabrera and ahead of James Loney — though this is what the middle of the order will look like more-or-less.

How it all lines up

As Topkin wrote, “another major point of spring interest will be the middle infield alignment. Cabrera starts at shortstop in the spring opener with Tim Beckham at second, though Cash said there will be numerous combinations.”

David DeJesus, who is still likely to be traded, will start in left field. Starting players will get two at-bats and pitchers will work one inning apiece unless a starter has a very short one.

Also slated to see time on the mound; left handed pitchers Enny Romero, CJ Riefenhauser and Robert Zarate, and right handed pitchers Kevin Jepsen, Brad Boxberger, Steve Geltz, German Marquez, Andrew Bellatti and Dylan Floro.

Noteworthiness

The Rays inked a minor-league deal and spring invite, pending a physical, with RHP Jim Miller. Miller, 32, spent parts of five seasons in the majors and will add bullpen depth. Most his work came in a 48-2/3 inning stint with the Athletics in 2012, when he posted a 2.59 ERA (4.74 FIP) with 44 strikeouts against 27 walks (5.25 K/BB). Miller has a 3.48 ERA (5.19 FIP) with 7.9 K9, 5.2 BB9 and a 33.5% GB%. Per Steve Adams (MLB Trade Rumors), he’s averaged just under 93 mph on his fastball in his 67 1/3 Major League innings and has a solid 3.78 ERA with 9.8 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9 in 429 Triple-A innings.

With Ronald Belisario on the shelf indefinitely due to a left shoulder fracture, Miller likely assumes his role as the veteran hurler with groundball tendencies. Miller throws in the low to mid 90s, but unlike Bellasario, has at least one secondary offering worth noting: a low-70s curveball. There is also a slider that is tossed a bit harder.

The winner(s) of the remaining bullpen spot(s) will likely be someone younger and with better stuff, but Miller has the chance to stick around the franchise as a plan c or d.